Rise of an Alpha: The Call
by Miz636
Summary: As Harry grew into his position as Alpha and led the Hogwarts Protectors to prepare for war, there were always two girls at his sides: his sister in all but blood, Tracey Davis, and his girlfriend, Ginny Weasley. What's Ginny's opinion on events and how she and Harry grew to love one another? Well, let's see… Inspired by "The Call" by Regina Spektor. Companion to my Alpha Trilogy.


_**Disclaimer: Anything familiar to JKR's books probably comes from there and is hers not mine**_._** Also, Harry Potter, Hogwarts, the Wizarding World, and anything else that has to do with it belongs to the lovely JK Rowling, not me. I'm just playing in her sandbox and building my own Hogwarts in it.**_

_For those who haven't read my trilogy, which I call **Rise of an Alpha** and begins with **Becoming Alpha**, this one-shot won't make much sense. If you have read it, welcome back. This is just a one-shot to show some of Ginny's side of their relationship throughout the series. I wrote it while writing **Return of an Alpha**, but I didn't want to post it until **Clash of the Alphas** was complete, given that the one-shot goes all the way to the end of the series. It's just an extra to go with the series, not really important, but I thought it might be interesting to read._

_This story is actually a songfic, but my Beta pointed out it could stand alone without the lyrics, so given the current situation, I decided to pull them. The full story with the lyrics included is on SIYE, under the same username, Miz636. My thanks to Arnel for editing this._

_So, yeah, enjoy._

**The Call**

Ginny watched Harry, even while she was possessed by Tom Riddle. During the times he left her alone, hiding just beneath the surface of her thoughts, ready to pounce on her will the moment he felt the need, Ginny could think for herself, and she used the time to watch Harry Potter.

In the beginning, she didn't know what to make of him. Ron had been calling him an evil, vicious snake that she shouldn't even be near, but the twins, the ones whose judgment she trusted more out of the four brothers still at home, said he was a good person. Unable to decide, she watched him and talked with him, trying to make her own opinion of him.

She didn't really notice when her confusion turned into friendship, followed by a light crush that was just a hint of a flame in her heart.

As time went on and Harry saved her from Tom in the Chamber, Ginny's little flame grew stronger bit by bit. Spending time with him, telling him the truth of what happened down in the Chamber and during the year possessed by Tom, allowed the flame to grow warm enough for her to begin to feel and enjoy, but she did nothing more.

Then her second year came, and Harry and Tracey involved her in their activities outside of classes and homework. Finally, the flame was beginning to burn her slightly, making it almost irresistible, hard to ignore. Still, she persevered, keeping it weak enough that she was able to continue her friendship with the raven-haired boy, externally unaffected by the flame.

Of course, Christmas had to come along and make things more complicated. It had been possibly the worst time for her to trip and fall on top of him, smashing the protection around the somewhat doused flame to permit it to take over her. Emotions flying, Ginny barely held it in as she and Harry agreed to wait another year to allow age to stop being a barrier between them.

Unfortunately, the flame wouldn't be doused anymore as it was now a hope in her heart that Harry would return her feelings for him, and there was nothing to do about it.

…

Time wore on for the redhead. Her friendship with the emerald-eyed boy growing more and more as the pair, along with Tracey, Harry's twin in everything but blood, became a trio that everyone began expecting to see together except when in class.

Summer passed with the trio becoming close enough that all it took was looks for them to understand one another, only a whispered or hissed word interjected here and there while arguing, to make a point, or for making an idea a little clearer.

It was quite enjoyable, and Ginny was able to push aside the crush, though deep down she knew that the crush had finally given way to something stronger, deeper, and more powerful. There was no escaping her feelings for her best friend anymore, but there was also no chance or reason to act on them – at least, not until he did.

Harry's asking her to the Yule Ball in _August_ shocked her, but it also made her do a little jig internally as a deep red flame was stoked just a tiny bit, sparks flying into the air at the victory.

The amusement of watching everyone try to figure out Harry's date to the Ball only added to the flame, as did the worry and fear she was fighting to keep at bay every time she even thought about the Triwizard Tournament Harry had been forced to participate in. Everything about the Tournament was hard for her to watch, but the actual Tasks were the worst part, even knowing he was prepared for them.

Still, the Yule Ball was approaching in just a few weeks' time, and Ginny was excited. Finally, she'd get to be seen with Harry – no more hiding it from everyone.

In a way, it was like a dream come true.

When the Ball came around, Ginny felt nothing but amazement at being with Harry for so long knowing it was as a date, even if the couple status wasn't official until he had asked her. Being dressed up in the dress Tracey had given her as an early Christmas gift made her feel something she hadn't felt before, something she couldn't name. In the end, though, it was being in Harry's arms, dancing with him, talking with him, enjoying the dance with him that made it all worth it.

Even the interrupted first kiss was fine because they got their kiss later on, and it was as if the flame in her body had finally gotten a log to make it stronger than ever before. She was on fire without burning, only Harry and her emotions there as they kissed for the first time. It had been better than she could ever imagine.

…

Time continued to pass, and emotional trauma was felt by all, though Harry felt it more than any other. It was hard for Ginny to be unable to truly help him, but there was nothing more that she could do that she wasn't already doing. Talking with him, helping him when he woke up from nightmares after only hours' of sleep, and just keeping him relaxed – she was doing it all during his unplanned, forced stay at the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, but there was only so much she could do.

Seeing his pain hurt her just as much as it did him, and that was when she began to realize that the emotions she had felt during the Third Task, as she listened to twelve-year-old Graham Pritchard's voice report what had been happening in the graveyard, were truly real. Harry was the one for her, and there was no way she could deny it.

…

Ginny was left alone with only her family and the Order for the rest of the summer once Tracey and the other adults figured out how to Portkey him away from his prison, but she had no reason to complain. She knew that, once school started, she'd get plenty of time to spend with the one she loved, though the word still had yet to cross her mind when it came to Harry.

If Harry needed her at all, she'd be there in an instant, even if it was only through the Journals. It would always be that way, no matter what.

…_  
_

Professor Delores Umbridge – or Umbitch, as the students called her in private – pushed Harry's hand too far during Ginny's fourth year. In the end, he extended the training that those with Journals had been getting for years, taking out the Animagus transformation, to anyone else who was able to own a Journal, adding on an extra section to the rules permitting people to claim a Journal.

The Hogwarts Protectors, as they had named themselves, grew in number quickly, forcing Harry to have those who had trained with him for years to help as they split up the groups by year in the beginning, moving people around as they tested them.

Watching Harry prepare for a war, or at least an attack on Hogwarts, made Ginny realize how much she had to lose in the end if things went wrong. She and Tracey had even taken to sharing sad, understanding looks as Harry trained the others or worked to prepare how to train them all.

One thing Ginny did was remind Harry of what he had to live for and that there were other things besides classes and training that he needed to concentrate on here and there. They both knew what she was doing, but Harry had to accept that if she wasn't doing it then he'd be training and studying almost nonstop, so he was grateful, or so he told her.

Ginny was proud of Harry, despite how worried and pained she was by what he was doing and the thoughts flying through her whirlwind of a mind whenever she stopped to think about the possible outcomes of the war. He had taken students from all seven years and was turning them into an army that would be able to take on the Death Eaters well enough to protect Hogwarts from invasion.

Swords, daggers, knives, brooms, supplies made by her twin brothers, and just overall magic provided Harry with a loyal following of students that respected him for his ability to fight and lead them. The Slytherin had shown that, despite his preference to let others take over for him when possible, he could lead quite well and in a way that those who followed him trusted him with their lives just as he was willing to trust his friends with his.

It was all she could ask for as she prepared alongside him.

…

In an unexplainable way, Ginny knew that she was what kept Harry from losing himself in the war going on outside the castle. Newspapers and black envelopes were bringing in news of deaths all over. Not even a summer of training and recovery from Umbridge had been able to help the internal guilt plaguing Harry each time he read the paper, saw a black envelope, or heard crying over something from the outside world.

Ginny did all she could to alleviate the guilt from him, and she knew Tracey was doing her best as well, but he still flinched slightly multiple times a day as he ate in the Great Hall or passed by quiet areas of the school.

He had told her many times when she had managed to relax him while they were alone that she was one of the few things keeping him together. It was his way of thanking her for putting up with him and his moods, but Harry didn't realize that Ginny could do nothing else when it came to him.

At fifteen and sixteen respectively, Ginny knew there would be no one else for her, had known it since she was thirteen and hearing him go through the events after the Third Task.

Whether Harry had figured it out yet or not, she didn't know, but Ginny was his one tie to something other than training and the war. There was nothing she wouldn't do to make sure he didn't forget everything and everyone else in his life.

…**_  
_**

Ginny's heart had broken as she was finally permitted to enter the Room of Requirement alongside Theo. Harry and Tracey were curled up in the same chair by the fire, their Journals on the table next to it so that they wouldn't be upset by the others. Both had red, puffy eyes and tear tracks down their cheeks.

Tracey went willingly to Theo, and Ginny pulled Harry into a new room the Room had created, taking his Journal with them.

It was one of the hardest things for her to do, comforting him as he grieved for two of the only parental figures he had had in his life – the first ones since his parents had died. Still, Ginny persevered and comforted him until he slept.

As he slept, she whispered into his hair about how she loved him and always would with everything she had because her life wouldn't be the same without him in it.

Harry had surprised her by telling her that he felt the same way; she hadn't even realized he had been awake for any of that.

Following that day, all of those with colored Journals grieved for the Davises, though none more than Tracey and Harry. Theo and Ginny were the largest comfort for the pair other than each other, so it was rare not to see the four together except when Ginny had to separate from them for class.

No one besides she and Harry knew what they felt for the other, but Ginny knew that Harry would remember that conversation for the rest of his life, just as she would, as it had changed her life and made it a bit brighter, even in the darkness around them.

…**  
**

Ginny's sixth year and Harry's seventh and final was possibly the toughest one for her with the exception of her first year.

The Sorting Hat's warning the first night had been a wakeup call to everyone, and hours were spent every week just preparing for the battle that was sure to come. Training, creating, and just learning to work together took up almost all free time for the students in Hogwarts.

Relationships of all kinds were strained during the year; whether they were friendships, brother and sisters, or couples, none were left out. More than once Ginny saw Tracey and Daphne completely ignoring the other in an effort not to yell, and Daphne and Blaise were seen whispering harshly before leaving one another for the rest of the day. Even Tracey and Harry had been spotted having an almost silent argument with harsh, sharp hand movements.

It was during these days that Ginny recognized how hard it was to have Harry as her boyfriend and the man she loved. Nothing would make her stop loving him, but she found it almost impossible to remind him of what else there was in life besides training and preparing.

Finally, Ginny snapped and asked Tracey to take over training for a day while she forced Harry out to the lake. It was there that she tore into him, reminding him deeply that he and everyone else in the school had other things to worry about besides the upcoming battle and schoolwork.

Hours went by as they talked, and both got frustrations and pain off their chest. When they went back, Harry told the Hogwarts Protectors that they were all to have a week off before they'd begin a slightly changed schedule for training and preparing, but for now, they all had friends, family, and loved ones to spend time with.

When they talked later on that week, Harry admitted that his memories of more peaceful times had been slipping away from him among the work he had been doing. Ginny's talk had been what he needed to catch them again before they disappeared completely, and it had felt like Ginny was all he needed to remember those times with ease.

Ginny both loved that fact and was saddened by it, understanding that this war was taking its toll on Harry more than anyone else in the Hogwarts Protectors.

That was when Ginny knew she had to work on keeping him more relaxed and less spread out, making him give more work to those with almost nothing to do so that no one was overburdened.

It would take work, but she could handle it and would.

…

Harry and Ginny both stood over the body of Lord Voldemort – or Tom Riddle, as Ginny's mind provided at random moments. The Sword of Gryffindor had slipped from her hand, landing on the body with the blade tearing it up from the inside as it pulled itself out. Next to her, Harry held a bloody Slytherin's Dagger in his hand as he stared at the body of the person who had been chasing him since he was a year old.

Around them, everyone began cheering at the death of the Dark Lord, but no one could reach them with Sebae still invisible and wound around them, which had been a good thing, Ginny reflected upon later.

Turning to face her boyfriend, Ginny slowly reached out and raised his face so that his anguished green eyes were looking into her brown ones.

While most of the Wizarding World would be celebrating, Ginny knew Harry would be grieving. Unfortunately, most of the students at the school would grieve as well, and the youngest of them had lost their innocence during this long, harsh night.

Relief suddenly began to fight with the pain in Harry's eyes as he realized it was over, and Ginny wrapped her arms around him. As his arms encircled her, Ginny heard the Dagger hit the ground, his fingers unable to hold it any longer.

"Stay with me, Harry," she had muttered in his ear as she stood on her tiptoes to reach it. "Don't forget that I'm here and that I'll help you."

His response was to tighten his hold on her, but it was all she needed to know that he would stay instead of running away from it all.

She had called him, and he had responded, even after all these years of pain, happiness, and love.

It was all she could ask for when she called.


End file.
